Afghanistan Mining News

[ComradePashtun]

I think it is great that the company is setting up the steal plant too, this should be a demand made by the Afghan govt.

[ComradePashtun]

SAIL may shortlist 4 pvt firms to bid for Afghan mines

New Delhi, June 5:

SAIL's proposed consortium to bid for Hajigak mines in Afghanistan would comprise half-a-dozen other big players, including public sector RINL and NMDC.

“We are in the process of choosing private sector partners and would like to take only three to four big companies,” said the SAIL Chairman, Mr C.S. Verma. This is apart from the three Government-owned firms SAIL, RINL and NMDC, he said.

SAIL is in the process of documenting the memorandum of understanding with proposed partners. “We expect to have MoU with the consortium partners in two weeks,” he added.
The Hajigak iron ore deposits are located in Bamiyan province, some 130 km west of Kabul, and are estimated to contain 1.8 billion tonnes of haematite reserves. SAIL and 15 other Indian firms had been shortlisted by the Afghan Government to bid for the iron ore reserves.

Besides trying to forge a consortium, SAIL is also contemplating setting up 3 million tonne per annum (mtpa) plant in Afghanistan, Mr Verma said.

“We may rope in a partner, but the plans are in very initial stages,” he added.

Afghanistan currently imports some 3-4 mtpa and SAIL proposes to tap the market that exists in the landlocked country. An overseas plant of 3 mtpa would require an investment of $3 billion, Mr Verma said.

“We will decide on investments after we decide on the partner,” he added.

No Price Hike

While private companies such as JSW Steel and Essar Steel have raised prices to offset the high input costs, SAIL said there are no such immediate plans for the company.

“There is no case to hike prices at present,” Mr Verma said. The company had last hiked its prices in March, driven by the high cost of coking coal.

Since then, the coking coal prices have eased a bit. The company had contracted a price of $330 per tonne for the April-June quarter. SAIL plans to finalise the coking coal contracts for the July-September quarter in the third week of June and expects the prices to be less than $330 per tonne, Mr Verma said.

With the situation returning to normalcy in Australia and lower demand from Japan, the coking coal prices have to come down further, Mr Verma said.

On the rising interest costs, Mr Verma said the off-take of steel products is unlikely to be affected. With the economy projected to grow at 8-9 per cent, the demand for steel in India is expected to be 13.3 per cent in the current year, according to the World Steel Association.

[ComradePashtun]

Our investment law is too relax on investment ownership. I know this is soley to attrack investment when the country needs it most, but I guess to impose some restrictions could still be made to benifit us, while still attract investment. Lets see hopefuly they chage it after some initiall big investments and when the security environment and infrastracture is improved.

[ComradePashtun]

Steel alliance for Afghan mine
SAMBIT SAHA

Calcutta, June 5: Public sector enterprise Steel Authority of India is looking to form a consortium of Indian steel makers and bid for the Hajigak iron ore mine in Afghanistan.

SAIL chairman C.S. Verma told The Telegraph that a memorandum of understanding was likely to be signed within the next two weeks among the steel makers.
“We have time till August for making the bid. But the contours of the consortium will be finalised now,” Verma said.

The SAIL initiative is a rare instance of public and private sector companies joining forces to bid for an overseas raw material asset.

Industry observers said the move was because of the nature of the asset.

The security threat from the Taliban in the region is high, and Indian companies are worried about the safety of their workforce and investment. Consequently, they are afraid to go solo in a project such as the Hajigak, which has the world’s largest iron ore deposits, observers pointed out.

Hajigak, in the Bamiyan province, is close to the district of Wardak, which has frequently witnessed attacks from the Taliban.

Apart from SAIL, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, public sector NMDC are likely to be some of the prominent members of the consortium.

“Yes we are looking at the asset,” a Tata Steel official said.

An official of an Indian steel making company, which is also likely to be part of the consortium, said partnering a US or an European group in the consortium would make sense given the heavy military deployment by the western powers in Afghanistan.

Verma said the consortium would depend on the Afghan government for security.

“During our recent visit to the country, we have made it clear that the local authority has to take care of the safety of our people and the security of the investment,” he said.

The Hajigak deposit, 100km east of Kabul, might contain ore worth as much as $350 billion, according to figures provided by the Afghan government.

The project may attract investment worth $6 billion over the years. It can generate around 10 million tonne ore a year.

According to Afghanistan’s mines ministry, Naveen Jindal-led Jindal Steel & Power, Sajjan Jindal’s JSW Steel and Ispat, Tata group’s Tata Steel, public sector NMDC and SAIL have shown interest.

“The development of Hajigak will involve major infrastructure improvements and will stimulate the local economy and improve the lives of the citizens,” mines minister Wahidullah Shahrani had recently said in a statement.

Industry is worried about transporting the mineral from the land-locked country. One possible option is to use the railway line being built by China Metallurgical Group.
The 921-kilometre-long railroad connects a copper mine in Aynak to Central Asia and China and passes through Bamiyan.

China Metallurgical had won a bid to develop the mine in 2007.

[Espresso]

Our investment law is too relax on investment ownership. I know this is soley to attrack investment when the country needs it most, but I guess to impose some restrictions could still be made to benifit us, while still attract investment. Lets see hopefuly they chage it after some initiall big investments and when the security environment and infrastracture is improved.

i ll say go for SAIL its ready for setting up a plant locals will benefit from it jobs infrastructure plus drilling & mining know how

[ComradePashtun]

You are right borgza,
I think SAIL would be the better option. It seems as it is rather an issue of capital with MNDC to set up the steel plant, where as you can see SAIL thinks it is value-added to do soo given that the market is large enough and very lucrative. I don't think the so called 'low cost integrated steel plants in the region' should be a matter of concern. First for one we don't know how integrated they are and secondly I don't think in terms of investment those regions are as favourable as Afghanistan is. Kazakistan, Russai and Ukrain are by far more distant from each other than India Afghanistan are. So if the Indian firms with SAIL in lead opts for a consortium thEn no other compitators can match with the effeciency and integrated system the Indian frims would operate in. Does the so called integrated system mean anything given the nature of steel production? I don't think so much. As menytioned the market is vast and those Kazakistani, Ukranian and Russian plants I doubt is remotely covering the region let alone be serious competitors. SAIL seems to have the capital so they should come in and set up the plant.

[ComradePashtun]

Even one firm if big enough, can do it all by itself, just as how MNC is mining the Aynak copper. But I think, the issue is rather differnt here, for one may be no one Indian firm might be able to do it on its own as this deposit is farily huge, secondly there are political issues and the risks associated that is freting any one Indian firm to go it alone. I think coming together in consortium is is rather enouraged by the Indian government and may be with some more assurances so to make sure the Indian firms are not fret and that this strategic and vast lucrative deposit is mined by India. There are obviously strategic issues involved too, which is another matter.

[Espresso]

i think the kazakhstan,ukraine,russia charging less does not makes sense & is just a corporate trick of barging chip by the NMDC guys say even if its so the distance cost will cut a good portion of it setting up a plant in afghanistan is way more cost effective plus i agree that there are other pvtl & companies in those countries kazak,ukraine,russia who would give a tough competition to the indo-afghan plant for the markets the best would be a partnership between SAIL & RINL or sail & behen inc of iran or other european,malaysian,korean firms in that way both india & afghanistan will benefits plus afghanistan will have a gateway to diversify its economies contacts & deals with other countries as well when it comes to quality steels india,china,south korea,japan malaysia are the ones

[KhalsaWarrior]

It would be interesting to see what transport route these companies would use to ferry ore out of the mines to India or wherever is the export destination. I don't think Pakistan will allow the use of the Gwadar port. Charbahar port in Iran is another option as India was helping Iran develop it. But I am not sure in what stage of readiness it is.

[graveyardofempires]

india dreaming

these deals are not legal,its under occupation of the country.

[Haris]

Warlords, government
capacity threaten Afghan
mining: watchdog


(Reuters) - A giant Afghan iron ore deposit may provide
hope for the prosperity of the country, but the Afghan
government is not able to ensure the mine is managed
properly and profiteering warlords could spark further
violence, a graft watchdog said on Sunday.


The Hajigak project, which straddles the central provinces of Bamiyan,
Parwan and Wardak, has deposits of 2 billion tones with an estimated
worth of $350 billion and is described by the Afghan government as Asia's
largest unmined iron deposit.


The deadline for bids on the deposit is September 4 and Mines Minister
Wahidullah Shahrani has said he expects to award a contract sometime in
November. He said 17 companies, mainly from India, were interested in the
deposit.


Integrity Watch Afghanistan, a Kabul-based group that aims to spotlight
corruption, said while Shahrani and Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal were
committed to a transparent mining sector, the government lacked the
capacity to stamp out "reported endemic corruption".


"The Afghan government will not be able to ensure that Hajigak is well
managed and, ultimately, beneficial for the future of the country," Integrity
Watch Afghanistan said in a report released on Sunday.


Since Shahrani became minister at the start of 2010, he has shed staff,
drawn up the ministry's first business plan and signed Afghanistan up to
the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) as a candidate
country. He was optimistic that by April 2012 Afghanistan would get full
EITI compliant status.


This month, the World Bank gave Afghanistan a $52 million grant, to be
disbursed over three years, to help manage its natural resources
effectively and transparently, including completion of the bidding process
for the Hajigak project.


But public sector corruption in Afghanistan is seen as worse than in any
other country except Myanmar and Somalia, according to corruption
watchdog Transparency International. President Hamid Karzai has
acknowledged graft exists in his government but has said foreigners are
also to blame.


TEMPTATION FOR WARLORDS


Experts say Afghanistan's mineral resources bounty is years, even
decades, away with potential investors also facing big infrastructure and
security challenges in a country ravaged by three decades of conflict.


"The political will at the ministerial level (for a transparent sector) is
apparent, but the capacity to implement is not," said the authors of the
report, "Hajigak - The Jewel of Afghan Mines".


Afghanistan's first big resources contract for the Aynak copper mine south
of Kabul, which is due to start production in 2014, was questioned when
accusations were widely reported in 2009 that Shahrani's predecessor,
Mohammad Ibrahim Adel, had accepted a $30 million bribe to award it to a
Chinese firm.


Adel denied the allegations and said China's top copper producer, Jiangxi
Copper Co, together with China Metallurgical Group Corp, had fairly won
the contract in 2007.


Integrity Watch Afghanistan said there was serious concern that warlords
-- military commanders who built up private armies and fortunes during
years of civil war who still command the loyalties of their supporters --
could spark further violence in a bid to profit from the country's minerals.


"Warlords will certainly be tempted to become active in Hajigak and in the
sector, and this will be a sure trigger for violent conflicts over resources,"
the report said.


"People familiar with the status of contracts in the natural resources sector
have been airing the fear that warlords may seek to invest in the sector as
a means to legalize their activities and enjoy their ill-gotten wealth," it
said.


The mining sector has become too exposed to war profiteers and investors'
mining capacity and experience had to be better scrutinized, Integrity
Watch Afghanistan said.


Warlords, government capacity threaten Afghan mining: watchdog | Reuters






--------

Not really news, under this current government there is little 'hope for prosperity' for the masses given the present situation.

[Haris]

Afghanistan vows to "set
standards" on child labor in
mines


KABUL (Reuters) - For around $2 a day some Afghan children as young as 10 work
long hours in the country's coal mines with no safety gear and, until now, no
government mining policy to protect them.

While national law allows Afghan children to work up to 35 hours a week from the age
of 14, they are not allowed to do hazardous jobs such as mining. But after 30 years of
conflict and with many children the sole family breadwinners, aid and rights groups say
the laws are flouted and not enforced.

As Afghanistan tries to attract foreign investors to develop an estimated $3 trillion
worth of untapped mineral deposits, Mines Minister Wahidullah Shahrani has been
working to expand and clean up the industry and has drafted a policy officially setting
the minimum age for coal mine workers at 18.

"We drafted the first-ever social policy guidelines to make sure that when it comes to
the labor force, and when it comes to health and safety, and most importantly on the
issue of child labor, we will have some type of standards," he told Reuters.

"Previously we did not have any official policy at the Ministry of Mines."
The guidelines are due to be implemented in the next few months and mining
inspectors would be employed to ensure the rules are upheld, Shahrani said. But
critics have questioned the government's capacity to manage the mining industry.

Since Shahrani became minister at the start of 2010, he has drawn up the ministry's
first business plan and signed Afghanistan to the Extractive Industries Transparency
Initiative (EITI) as a candidate country. He was optimistic that by April 2012
Afghanistan would get full EITI compliant status.

Afghanistan's rich mineral deposits have been trumpeted as the key to future
prosperity, but experts say the bounty is many years, even decades, away and point
to massive security and infrastructure challenges for potential investors.

The country however has already awarded a contract to China's top copper producer,
Jiangxi Copper Co, and China Metallurgical Group Corp for the big Aynak mine south of
Kabul.

Shahrani is due to award another large contract in November for what the government
describes as Asia's largest untapped iron ore deposit, the Hajigak mine, that straddles
the provinces of Bamiyan, Parwan and Maidan Wardak.

CHILD LABOR WIDESPREAD

About 200 children were recently found working in coal mines in central Bamiyan
province, according to separate studies by the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights
Commission and by the Child Protection Action Network, a joint initiative with aid
groups including the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world, where children make up half
the population, and a quarter of children die before the age of five.

The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission found that children were
working in some mines run by the government, which Shahrani acknowledged,
although he said there was "not that many." He blamed 30 years of conflict for
pushing impoverished families to allow children to work in mines.

"All those years have been a difficult period for the people," he said.

The U.S. Geological Survey has found Afghanistan has "moderate to potentially
abundant" coal resources, although most of it is relatively deep or currently
inaccessible. It is mainly used for powering small industries -- such as cement
production, textile manufacturing and food processing -- and as a primary source of
household fuel, it said.

Child labor in Afghanistan is not restricted to mining.

There are about 1.2 million Afghan children in part- or full-time work, the government
says, in a country where war, poverty, widespread unemployment and a preference
for large families have created a huge underage labor market.

A 2010 study by the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission found that an
even larger portion of the country's 15 million children -- up to 40 percent -- were
likely to be engaged in some sort of paid work.

Abdul Ahad Farzam, head of the commission in Bamiyan, said because many mines
were often located in remote areas where children are exposed to the dangers
associated with coal mining -- cancer and respiratory illnesses caused by the dust
and gases, which can also cause underground explosions.

"We are afraid of child abuse because they stay all night and day there together (at
the mines)," he said.


Afghanistan vows to set standards on child labor in mines | Top News | Reuters

[RanadahRanadah]

Dear All,

The sale of raw from any mine in Afghanistan is an of act of killing our productivity that means selling out Afghanistan economy and future , we must use our raw materials to produce or manufacture product, equipment and accessories then sale these to buyers all across the World. We should not rush to sale our deposit, please stop selling raw of mines in Afghanistan and in Loy Afghanistan! The sale of raw material from mines is s a biggest national treason and anyone doing it shall be considered national traitors that will never be forgiven!

[RanadahRanadah]

Dear All,

All Afghans//pashtons/Pathan are most skilled and talented people and they are already skilled they make all these products or most of it and sale it to the buyers in the World!.

http://www.google.com.my/search?um=1...ron%20products

The sale of raw from any mine in Afghanistan is an of act of killing our productivity that means selling out Afghanistan economy and future , we must use our raw materials to produce or manufacture product, equipment and accessories then sale these to buyers all across the World. We should not rush to sale our deposit, please stop selling raw of mines in Afghanistan and in Loy Afghanistan! The sale of raw material from mines is s a biggest national treason and anyone doing it shall be considered national traitors that will never be forgiven!

[graveyardofempires]

Warlords, government
capacity threaten Afghan
mining: watchdog

thats a good thing

Afghanistan vows to "set
standards" on child labor in
mines

AND THE TROUBLE BEGINS.